Rookie linebacker Obo Okoronkwo studied the Rams player he might replace this season

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Oklahoma linebacker Obo Okoronkwo runs through a drill during the NFL Scouting Combine on March 4 in Indianapolis. Okoronkwo only played two years of high school football before landing at Oklahoma, where he was the Big 12 co-defensive player of the year in 2017. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

FILE – In this Oct. 28, 2017, file photo, Oklahoma defensive end Ogbonnia Okoronkwo (31) gestures to the crowd in the third quarter of an NCAA college football game against Texas Tech, in Norman, Okla. Okoronkwo was selected to the AP All-Conference Big 12 team announced Friday, Dec. 8, 2017. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

The Rams hope to have added some pass-rushing talent and depth to their linebacker corps with the selection of former Oklahoma Sooner Ogbonnia Okoronkwo. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Oklahoma linebacker Obo Okoronkwo runs through a drill during the NFL Scouting Combine on March 4 in Indianapolis. Okoronkwo only played two years of high school football before landing at Oklahoma, where he was the Big 12 co-defensive player of the year in 2017. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

THOUSAND OAKS — As a football neophyte in college, Obo Okoronkwo needed study material, so one of his former coaches suggested video of an NFL player with a similar body type and skill set.

That’s how Robert Quinn unwittingly became Okoronkwo’s tutor, and now, a couple years later, Okoronkwo has a chance to replace Quinn as one of the Rams’ starting outside linebackers. It’s been a remarkable rise for Okoronkwo, whose draft day last month literally could have been part of a dream.

Okoronkwo and the rest of the Rams’ rookies arrived at the team’s Cal Lutheran practice facility Monday, then took part in on-field drills for the first time Tuesday morning as part of the team’s offseason program.

“I definitely see an opportunity to play, if I do everything in my power,” Okoronkwo said. “So I’m going to go in with a worker’s mentality. … Out of all 32 teams in the NFL, this is the perfect fit for me.”

There’s still an eternity before the Sept. 10 season opener against Oakland, and plenty for Okoronkwo to learn, but it’s beginning to seem as though he’s fated to have success with the Rams.

Okoronkwo said he went through the pre-draft process expecting to become a Ram. Area scout Steve Kazor remained in his ear and told him the team would draft him, even though the Rams didn’t have a pick until the third round and Okoronkwo had been projected to go as early as the second round.

Then came the draft, and Okoronkwo’s phone remained silent through the first three rounds. The Rams made two fourth-round picks and one fifth-round pick, and continued to skip over Okoronkwo until late in the fifth round, with the 160th pick.

“I’d waited so long that I fluffed my pillow and took a nap,” Okoronkwo said. “Every time I heard a pick and it wasn’t my name, I’d sink a little lower in my seat. There was a point where I was on the couch laying down, so I was like, let me just hop on my bed. I put my phone in the middle of my family and took a nap in the next room. They just busted in the room when they saw the area code said Thousand Oaks.”

Finally. Okoronkwo’s draft stock might have slipped a bit because of concerns about his size (6-foot-2, 253 pounds), speed and lack of experience. A son of Nigerian immigrants, Okoronkwo didn’t take up football until his junior year of high school, and even kept it secret from his parents for a while.

Okoronkwo quickly progressed at Oklahoma. In his first two years, he played in just nine games and recorded 16 tackles. In his junior and senior seasons, Okoronkwo played in 26 games and totaled 146 tackles, 17 sacks and five forced fumbles. He was the Big 12 co-defensive player of the year in 2017.

Now he’s a perfect fit for the Rams, who need to rebuild their group of linebackers. Second-year linebacker Samson Ebukam seems to have the edge to replace Connor Barwin, who didn’t re-sign with the Rams, and Okoronkwo will contend for playing time at the other outside spot.

That’s where things get a little eerie. When Okoronkwo took up football at his high school near Houston, shortly after Quinn had an All-Pro season with the Rams in 2013, a coach singled out Quinn and told Okoronkwo, “When you finally get it and the light comes on, this is the kind of player you’re going to be.”

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So, Okoronkwo studied Quinn, who is slightly bigger at 6-4 but has a similar burst around the edge and is a pass-rush specialist. Okoronkwo watched other top linebackers, such as Von Miller and Justin Houston, but said he always kept a particular eye on Quinn’s skill set.

“His dip and lean,” Okoronkwo said. “He could really run and bend around that corner. I feel I can do that too. He does a lot of crafty things to get to that point, so that’s why I watch his film. I don’t even just watch highlights. I watched cut-ups because I wanted to learn the method behind the madness.”

The Rams traded Quinn to Miami in March, which left an opening that Okoronkwo might fill, although linebackers such as Matt Longacre and Morgan Fox also will be in contention for playing time.

That process started this week when Okoronkwo and 27 other rookies reported to Cal Lutheran and joined the Rams’ offseason program. They also will be on the field next week, when the Rams get into the more intense practices, commonly known as OTAs.

At some point, Okoronkwo likely will match up against the Rams’ third-round pick, offensive tackle Joe Noteboom, and those two have some history. Oklahoma beat TCU in 2016, then twice last season, including once in the Big 12 championship game.

Okoronkwo smiled and laughed when he talked of the time he “started giving (Noteboom) some gray hairs,” during that 2016 game when Okoronkwo got the better of Noteboom in the fourth quarter of a close game.

“He let up the game-clinching sack,” Okoronkwo said. “You can ask him about it. I sacked Kenny Hill and we won the game and went home. His story might be a little sadder.”

ROSTER MOVES

The Rams brought their roster to the league limit of 90 players Tuesday when they were awarded running back Larry Rose off waivers from Tennessee.

Rich Hammond was a high school senior when the Rams left town in 1995, and now he's their beat writer for the Southern California News Group. A native of L.A., Rich broke in at the Daily Breeze as a college freshman and also has covered USC, the Kings, the Lakers and the Dodgers. He still loves sports and telling stories. Don't take the sarcastic tweets too seriously.

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